Young Soldiers
by Dolyn
Summary: Set in the dark ages, in a forest where gargoyles and humans live in harmony. Two young people - a gargoyle girl and a human boy - find themselves in a mystical battle for Avalon. All G-rated now, but I'm not sure if the rating will go up. Please R&R.


This is set in the dark ages. Chances are we won't run into Goliath and the gang, but if they do, they don't belong to me. Oh, Oberon doesn't either. Or Avalon, but that's not Gargoyles exclusive. Or anyone else from the show they run into.  
  
You'll notice that they have names. Hard to write a story without them. Sorry, all you die-hards out there.  
  
What else.oh yes. I haven't been watching the show as regularly, so if I have some stuff inconsistent with the story, such as the size of Avalon, (how big is it, anyway?) don't kill me. I apologize. Oh, and Nunchaku = nun chucks, and shurikens = throwing stars, like ninjas have. Glaives are like spears, with a long blade instead of a head. And gargoyles live about ten years for every one human year. So, since Trina is 142, she acts about 14.  
  
Cool! That's it! R&R, hope you enjoy it.  
  
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"Excellent choice, Trina. The double-bladed sword is a very powerful weapon."  
  
Trina of the Ginie clan smiled down at her new double-bladed sword. She was standing in the armory with an old brown gargoyle, Kihon, who had been teaching her weapon craft. Having mastered the use of nunchaku, flails, glaives, shurikens, and throwing daggers, she was now moving on to a new weapon. The blades glinted dangerously and reflected her face. She studied it. Red skinned, orange haired, and short, Tria was not generally thought of as a pretty. Although her wings were long and graceful, she was underweight, and didn't look very muscular. So she had started her training early, hoping to bulk up, and had soon become the clan's most promising young warrior. Which was saying a lot.  
  
"Can I start training with it now?" she asked eagerly. Kihon chuckled.  
  
"I'm not going to train you with it now, no. I want to get some food. But you're welcome to see what you can do with it on your own." He nodded and left, walking out into the forest. After a moment, Trina slung the sword over her back, and left through the back door.  
  
A warm breeze picked up as she walked through the forest, waving to people she knew. Along with the large gargoyle clan lived a small human village, containing some of the strongest warriors and wizards of the age. Ginie forest was famous for them - the village was the stuff of legends. Trina felt lucky to live there, and to be a part of her clan. When members of the Ginie clan turned 140, they were presented with a wooden anklet, made from the sacred wood of the Tielay tree in the center of the forest. Using the anklets, they could decide whether or not to turn to stone each morning. Trina's anklet was relatively new - she was 142.  
  
Trina stopped in a sunny clearing and took the sword off her back. Gripping it tightly, she sank into a defensive crouch, smiling at how the long weapon helped her balance. She began going through the exercises she used when practicing with her glaive, and had sped up when she accidentally grabbed one of the blades, forgetting that she was working with a new weapon. She dropped it and clutched her hand, trying to staunch the blood flow. 'Looks like I'm going to have to turn stone tomorrow,' she thought.  
  
A twig snapped behind her, and Trina grabbed two of the daggers from her belt as she twirled around. The human boy who'd come up behind her stopped, his hands up and his eyes wide.  
  
"Don't attack me. I'm unarmed," he told her.  
  
Trina rolled her eyes and pointed to the necklace he was wearing with one of her daggers. The pendant had a green R with copper tendrils around it, and hung on a leather string. The boy scowled and tucked it under his shirt.  
  
"I'm not quite that thick," Trina said. "You're a wizard's apprentice, right? You're always armed."  
  
He nodded. Trina looked him over. He was tall, with brown hair and green eyes. Wearing a loose white shirt and brown pants. Not bad looking, for a gangly human boy. She could tell he was looking her over too, and picked up her new sword.  
  
"So? Who are you and what do you want?"  
  
He shrugged. "I don't want anything. I was just passing through." He glanced at her hand. "You ought to bandage that."  
  
"I didn't bring any bandages. I don't usually need them. And you still haven't told me who you are."  
  
He sat down among the roots of a large tree. "I'm Ray. Apprentice to the wizard Frestar, sadly."  
  
"Why 'sadly'? He's a good wizard." Trina knew of Frestar - everyone in the village did. Members of the Ginie rarely had half as much magic as the human did, and respected him greatly. She remembered the day he had been born. All the wizards nearby had come to see the baby, drawn to the magic surrounding him.  
  
"And I'm not. He expects too much of me."  
  
"Oh really? Well, what can you do?"  
  
"Fireballs, shields, some illusions, and a weak healing. That's it. And I've been training with him since I was nine."  
Trina nodded slowly, and turned around. With her back facing him, she took a shuriken out of the pouch at her side, then twirled quickly and threw it at Ray. He threw up a thin shield with a wave of his hand and a muttered word just in time. The metal star floated an inch from his face, stuck in his shield, then dropped to the ground. Ray looked at her, his eyes like plates, then scowled and gave her the finger.  
  
Trina just grinned at him. "You're not too bad. Here, let me show you how to throw that shuriken you blocked."  
  
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Hope you liked it! I'll put up another chapter soon. Please review! 


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